KINGMAN - A group of local swimmers swam in the Ninth Annual F.A.S.T. Alcatraz swim in April. The swim is put on by the Foundation for Aquatic Safety and Training, a non-profit group out of Phoenix dedicated to preventing drowning and promoting public safety.

The swimmers are part of a competitive year-round swim team called Swim Neptune, and the teenagers swam 1.4 miles in open water from Alcatraz Island to Aquatic Park in San Francisco.

The swim was no routine task for the swim team. Darla Wright, the mother of Callie Wright, talked about her daughter's experience.

"The hardest part of the swim was the first fifteen minutes when she jumped into the 56-degree water," wrote Darla via email to the Miner.

"Her skin was burning and had not turned numb yet. She has had a previous rotator cuff injury and was fearful that her shoulder would give out. The biggest challenge was that the distance seemed so far and she could not stop swimming or she would get too cold."

According to Darla, Callie trained in some lake swims for 30 minutes to an hour at a time in October, using the gear and wetsuits she would use in the Alcatraz swim. The year round competitions with the Neptune Swim team also kept her in shape.

The Alcatraz swim this year was the first one ever that no swimmer needed to be pulled from the water. More than 100 swimmers participated, all of them kids and they all made it to the other side.